In the modern, automated battlefield, innovations and advancements have abounded in the areas of remote surveillance, weapons systems delivery and accuracy, communications, personal protection of soldiers, etc. One area which has lagged behind is the diagnosis and treatment of wounded soldiers, which still requires trained medical personnel to accurately diagnose the severity of injuries suffered in the battlefield and to conduct triage in prioritizing accurate and effective treatment, often on an unconscious soldier who cannot answer questions.
One particularly difficult injury to diagnose is Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), which relies on an accurate determination of the magnitude of the impact or blast energy to the head of the individual. In the civilian sector the severity of the injury can often be correctly determined after-the-fact at a local hospital with an x-ray, MRI or CAT scan which provides an internal image of the resulting damage. Unfortunately, these heavy and bulky devices are not generally available near battlefields, and it could be hours or even days before the wounded combat soldier can be taken to similar assessment facilities. If left undetected, however, asymptomatic TBI could result in delayed neurological damage due to swelling of the brain, etc. which could be prevented with earlier treatment. What is needed, therefore, is a method and system for (1) accurately measuring and recording the severity of the impact or blast energy experienced by the soldier, (2) for accessing the data in the battlefield environment for improved diagnostics and selection of treatment, and (3) for performing these functions with minimal power expenditure, as any device mounted on the helmet which requires frequent battery changes may be impractical under battlefield conditions.